Power-transmitting mechanism.



No. 634,!74: Patented Oct. 3, |899. B. S.- LAWSON.

POWER TRANSMITTING MECHANISM.

(Application fled- Oct. 18, 189B.)

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No. 634,l74. Patented Oct. 3, |899.

' B. S. LAWSUN.

PUWER TRNSMITTING MECHANISM.

(Application `filed Oct. 18, 1898.1 (No Model.) 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 III TH: mams mm co.. moro-uma.. wAsHxNm'aN. u. c.

UNITED, STATES PATENT Erice.

BENJAMIN S. LAWSON, OF RED BANK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTIAIS TO ASA L. MERRIOK, EUGENE M. MERRIOK, AND ANDREW J. DE MOTT, OF SYRAOUSE, NEW YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming' part 0f Letters'Patent No. 634,174, dated October 3, 1899.

Application filed October 18,1898I T @ZZ whom t may concern/,-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN S. LAwsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Red Bank, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOonvertible Air Motors and Compressors; and I do truly declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of my invention, such 'as will en- Io able others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in convertible air motors and compressors; and

the object is to provide a device of this character which may be used as a motor and, as occasion requires, may b e converted into a compressor, and vice versa.

2o To this end the invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of the several parts of the device, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

z 5 In the accompanying drawings the same reference characters indicate the same parts of the invention.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of an aircylinder and valve mechanism embodying my 3o invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section o`n the broken line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view on the broken line 3 3 of Fig. I. t

1 denotes the cylinder, 2 the piston, and 3 the piston-rod.

4 denotes the valve-chest, andV 5 the slidevalve, which is a modified form of the ordinary D-valve, and its inner face is formed with a socket 6 to receive the free end of a 4o crank-arm 7, mounted on a packed rock-shaft 8, j ournaled in the cylinder-Wall, and the projecting end of said rock-shaft is connected in the usual manner to thel link-motion operated by the eccentrics carried by the crankshaft.

I do not deem it necessary to show the crankshaft, the link-motion-reversing gear, or the connection between the piston-rod and said Serial Nol 693,877. (No model.)

crank-shaft, as these parts are of the conventional style and form no part of my invention. 5o

9 denotes the inlet-pipe connecting the chest 4 with the pressure storage tank. (Not shown.)

10 and 12 denote the cylinder inlet-ports, and 13 the exhaust port, extending from 55 the valve-seat 14part way around the cylinder and communicating with a longitudinal jacket-port 15, which has an oriiice 16 opening into the atmosphere. The forward end of the longitudinal port 15 communicates with a 6o valve-chamber 17, in which is mounted a spring-actuated valve 18, and the said chamber communicates with the front end of the cylinder by means of the short port 19. The rear end of the longitudinal port 15 also com- 65 municates with a valve-chamber 20, in which is located a spring-actuated valve 21, and the said chamber communicates with the rear end of the cylinderby means of the short port 22,

and both of these valves open inwardly with 7o respect to the cylinder.

The forward inlet-port 10 extends from the valve-seat 14 to the forward end of the cylinder, and the rear inlet-port 12 extends from said valve-seat to the rear end of the cylinder. 7 5

25 and 26 denote one-way plug-cocks mounted in the walls of the inlet-ports 10 and 12, respectively, and their projecting stems are provided with the crank-arms 27 27 which in turn are connected by a rod 2S for oper- 8o ating said plu g-cocks, so as to simultaneously open or close said ports for a purpose to be presently explained.

29 and 30 denote short lateral ports connecting the main ports vl0 and 12, respec- 85 tively, with the interior of the valve-chest 4, and the upper ends of these lateral ports are normally closed by the outwardly-opening spring-actuated valves 31 and 32.

This completes the description of the work- 9o ing parts, and I will now proceed to describe the operation.

The parts being in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the plug-cocks open and the slide-valve in position to take air to the forward end of the cylinder, the inner face of the valve allows the air in the back of the cylinder to escape through the port 12 into the exhaust-port 13 and from thence through the orifice 16 into the atmosphere. This arrangement constitutes the well-known form of reciprocating-slide-valve engine. lVhen it is desired to convert the device into a compressor, it is only 'necessary to shift the rod 2S to close both plug-cocks 25 and 26, which of course closes the port-passages 10 and 12, so that as the piston moves forward the air in the cylinder ahead of the piston is forced through the outer end of the port 10 and short port 29, lifting the valve 31 and passing into the valve-chest 4, whence it is stored into the tank through the inlet-pipe 9. In the meantime while the piston is moving forward, as above described, the air is entering the cylinder behind the piston through the valve 21, and when said piston has arrived at the forward end of its stroke and starts on its rearward movement the valves 31 and 21 close, the air ahead of the piston is forced through the valve into the tank, and air is taken into the cylinder behind the piston through the inlet-valve 1S.

Of course it will be understood that when the cylinder is in use as au air-compressor the slide-valve continues its reciprocating movement as usual, but is functionless, due to the plug-valves obstructing the ports 10 and 12.

This device is principally intended as a street-car motor, the ear starting out with an initial pressure in the storage-tank, which, being applied to the cylinder as a motor, (the piston-rod heilig properly geared to the caraxle,) impels the car on level or up grades, and when the car is under headway on a level grade and it is desired to stop it, or when on downgrades, the plug-cocks 25 and 2G are closed, and the momentum of the car being transmitted to the piston converts the cylinder into an air-compressor, and thereby restores or returns a portion of the spent airpressure to the tank, and while I have given this illustration as one of the uses of such a device it is evident that it is susceptible of various other applications, and in this connection it may be stated that I do not desire to confine myself to the precise construction shown, as various modilications,such as would fall within the scope of my invention, will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in this art without departing from the spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s-

1. A cylinder provided with main inlet and exhaust ports, and independent valved inletports opening into the atmosphere, a valvechest and valved branch ports connecting the cylinder ends of said main inlet-ports with said chest and means for simultaneously interrupting communication between the opposite ends of each main inlet-port, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A cylinder provided with the usual main inlet and exhaust ports and having independent valved inlet-ports communicating with said exhaust-port, a valve-chest, and independent valved branch ports connecting said chest and cylinder and means for simultaneously cutting off communication between said branch ports and the inlet ends of said main inlet-ports, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A cylinder provided with main inlet and exhaust ports, and auxiliary valved inletports, a valve-chest and a slide-valve mounted therein, independent valved branch ports connecting said main inlet-ports and chest, and the plug-cocks mounted in said main inlet-ports, substan tially as and for the purpose Set forth.

+L. The cylinder provided with the usual inlet-ports 10 and 12, the usual exhaust-port 13 and the independent valved inlet-ports 10 15 and 22 15 connecting the opposite ends of said cylinder with the atmosphere, the valve-chest 4, the valved branch ports 29 and 30 and the intercepting plug-cocks 25 and 2G located in the main inlet-ports 10 and 12 respectively, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name, in the presence of two attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State ofNew York, this 11th day of October, 1898.

BENJAMIN S. LAIVSON.

lVitnesses:

E.4 A. WEIsBURc, K. ll. THEOBALD.4 

